Over the last few years tobacco companies have been feeling the heat from multiple sources, complaining that their companies hold the sole source of many illnesses and deaths. These unfair accusations are completely biased and unfounded. Only 18% of all deaths in the United States seemed caused by tobacco related incidents. (Hawkins, Arthur. Smoking Deaths Worldwide. September 15, 2011 .)
However untimely those deaths were, they had been met with the knowledge that tobacco may have harmful side effects. Every pack of cigarettes, cigars, chew, dip, snuff, etc. have a general surgeon warning written right on the label. People who use tobacco products, should only use them fully comprehending that they could be risking their own health. If the consumer ignores or dismisses that clearly printed warning, how is the tobacco company at fault? If someone places something into their mouth, without even the slightest knowledge of what it is or what it could do to them, why would we blame the company who holds the item instead of the one who put it in their mouth voluntarily?
A chief complaints consumers talk about is how addicting the nicotine in certain tobacco products is. The complaint they make is that tobacco companies take advantage of this nicotine addiction by enhancing their products with chemicals that improve the delivery system of nicotine. Researchers have found that besides tobacco, cigarette smoke also contains: arsenic, ammonia, carbon monoxide, methane, and formaldehyde. All of which are sever toxins that can cause fatal conditions in the human body, such as organ failure. (Arsenic. September 23, 2011 Wikipedia. September 26, 2011
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... when people are then seen as responsible enough to make their decisions. What I am saying is that people should start to use the responsibility they are perceived to have, and stop blaming tobacco companies for their choice to use tobacco products.
Works Cited
(Hawkins, Arthur. Smoking Deaths Worldwide. September 15, 2011 .)
(Williams, Mary, ed. Tobacco and Smoking: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1998.)
(Smoking Statistics | Quitting Smoking. Healthy Living. September 15, 2011 .)
(Smoking And Your Family. Quitter's Guide. September 20, 2011 .)
Arsenic. September 23, 2011 Wikipedia. September 26, 2011 .
The smoking issue is very complicated and some of the arguments are beyond the scope of this essay. Still, we can obtain a balanced outlook if we consider the following: the facts of smoking, individual right, societal responsibility, and the stigma of smoking. Haviland and King write essays which contain very important points, but seem to contain a bias which may alienate some people. To truly reach a consensus on the smoking issue, we must be willing to meet each other halfway. We must strike equilibrium between individual right and societal responsibility.
The tobacco industry seems like a beneficial addition to our economy. It has basically been a socially acceptable business in the past because it brings jobs to our people and tax money to the government to redistribute; but consider the cost of tobacco related treatment, mortality and disability- it exceeds the benefit to the producer by two hundred billion dollars US. (4) Tobacco is a very profitable industry determined to grow despite government loss or public health. Its history has demonstrated how money can blind morals like an addiction that is never satisfied. Past lawsuits were mostly unsuccessful because the juries blamed the smoker even though the definition of criminal negligence fits the industry’s acts perfectly. Some may argue for the industry in the name of free enterprise but since they have had such a clear understanding of the dangers of their product it changes the understanding of their business tactics and motives. The success of the industry has merely been a reflection of its immoral practices. These practices have been observed through its use of the media in regards to children, the tests that used underage smokers, the use of revenue to avoid the law, the use of nicotine manipulation and the suppression of research.
"Smoking Bans and the Tobacco Industry." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 1 July 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. .
One cigarette can contain 8mg of nicotine to 20mg (How much Nicotine). Thompson Jr. and The Daily Currant use rhetorical strategies as a way to say, although nicotine is addicting, alternatives can have a negative effect as well. These alternatives can be just as addicting as nicotine, “In fact herbal cigarettes are as harmful as tobacco cigarettes, because any vegetable matter that’s burned produces tar, carbon monoxide, and other toxins” and on top of being addicting are required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to carry a warning that herbal cigarettes are harmful to health (Are Herbal and ‘Natural’ Cigarettes safer?). Vitarettes (vitamin infused cigarettes) states that “Branding an unhealthy product as healthy by adding small amounts of vitamins has worked wonders for sugar-water purveyor Vitamin Water, and Phillip Morris hopes it too can capture some of that Magic.” (The Daily Currant) showing that, just by adding different alternative they may appear healthy and might be healthy, but it does not cancel out the harmful substances that are still in a product. The authors are making the argument that alternatives for nicotine can only slow down the process of blackened lungs, not stop
Every year cigarette smoking is responsible for 500,000 premature deaths (Nugel), you do not want to be just another statistic, do you? America’s first cash crop was tobacco. That means that tobacco has been around for a really long time. It was not until 1865, though, that cigarettes were sold commercially. They were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War (Dowshen). From then, cigarettes spread like wildfire, and it was not until 1964 that anyone made a stand about the negative effects of tobacco and cigarettes. People start smoking for all different reasons, some to fit in and some to “escape”. Regardless, it is a horrible habit. 3900 children will try their first cigarette today. Amongst adults who currently smoke, 68% of them began at age 18 or younger, and 85% at 21 or younger (American Lung Association). And of all those people, 70% say if they were given another chance they would never have picked up that first cigarette (Tobacco Free Maine). Smoking is responsible for 1 and 5 deaths in the united states, and is the number one preventable cause of death (NLH). Smoking burns and there is no doubt about that, but before one picks up that cigarette, understand the negative effects on not only oneself, but others affected by ones poor choices, like second-hand smoke. Because of smoking cigarettes, many types of cancer, decrease of life quality, and negative health effects have become all too common in the world today.
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
Tobacco use is a debate worldwide and everyone has their own opinions about the issue. This is such a controversial issue because of the many different health risks, weather it is beneficial or not, the harmful aspect, and its importance of an individual’s freedom. Tobacco has no general advantages towards someone’s health, as it destroys the lungs and can cause cancer anywhere in the body from all the carcinogens. In my opinion the production and sale of tobacco should be banned in the United States.
The use of tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, accounting for more than 443,000 deaths each year. More than 16 million Americans suffer from a disease caused by smoking. On average, smokers die ten years earlier than non-smokers. About 18.1% of all adults (42.1 million Americans) are currently users of tobacco. The number of people addicted to products such as tobacco is too high, and can be lowered.
Through out its long and devastating history, the cigarette and it’s advertising have had devastating sociological impacts and economic impacts. Tobacco companies attempted to appeal to various underprivileged or minority groups in society, have made money based off addiction and cancer, and have costed society loads of money. With the advertising bans and restrictions that came in both Canada in 1988 (Dunsmuir), and the United States in 1971 (Qi 215), the industry was heavily impacted, and smoking prevalence has since been at an all new low since it peaked. Cigarettes are once again being associated as something negative, just as they were when they first emerged (Gardner 13), and may one day be a thing of the
It is shocking to report, that after 50 years of awareness of the dangers of smoking and use of other tobacco products, tobacco industries are still on the incline. Cigarettes and the diseases they cause, are still commonplace in our communities, nation, and the world.
Since the 1950s, more than 70,000 scientific articles have left no doubt that smoking is an extraordinarily important cause of premature mortality and disability around the world. In populations where cigarette smoking has been common for several decades, about 90% of cases of lung cancer, 15–20% of cases of other cancers, 75% of cases of chronic bronchitis and emphysema and 25% of deaths from cardiovascular diseases in those 35–69 years of age are attributable to tobacco. Studies have shown that half of all long-term smokers will die of a tobacco-related disease and, of these, half will die before the age of 65 (World bank, 1999).
Every year, there are over 400,000 smoking-related deaths in the United States. A large percentage of these are due to lung cancer, whose leading cause is smoking. However, not all deaths are smokers themselves. Anyone in the vicinity can fall victim to second hand smoke. These people, through no action of their own, can have their lives threatened.
Smoking is a simple process of inhaling and exhaling the fumes of burning tobacco, but it has deadly consequences. According to the American Cancer Society, smoking is the most preventable cause of death in America today (Encarta, 2002). Until the 1940?s, smoking was considered harmless. It was at this time that epidemiologists noticed a dramatic increase in the cases of lung cancer. A study was then conducted between smokers and nonsmokers to determine if cigarettes were the cause of this increase. This study, conducted by the American Cancer Society, found increased mortality among smokers. Yet it was not until 1964 that the Surgeon General put out a report acknowledging the danger of cigarettes. The first action to curb smoking was the mandate of a warning on cigarette packages by the Federal Trade Commission (Encarta, 2002). In 1971, all cigarette advertising was banned from radio and television, and cities and states passed laws requiring nonsmoking sections in public places and workplaces (Encarta, 2002). Now in some cities smoking is being completely banned from public places and workplaces and various people are striving for more of these laws against smoking.
Almost every year the American people pay altogether around 100 billion dollars in medical costs related to smoking (Obama, 2009). Tobacco products not only can hurt your wallet, but also can jeopardize your health with many different illnesses and diseases. Tobacco products alone contain over 5,000 toxins; acrolein and acetaldehyde are two of the
One person dies every six seconds due to a tobacco related disease, which results in a shocking amount of ten deaths per minute. Tobacco is one of the most heavily used addictive products in the United States. Tobacco contains over 4,000 chemicals; approximately 250 are dangerously harmful to humans. Smoking is a major public health problem. All smokers face an increased risk of lung cancer, cardiovascular problems and many other disorders. Smoking should be banned due to the many health risks to the user, second hand related smoke illness, and excessive cost.